Family, loved ones left picking up the pieces after mother, three children shot to death in Lake Wales
LAKE WALES, Fla. - The shock and disbelief continues in Lake Wales after a mother and her three children were shot to death Tuesday by the woman's boyfriend.
Friends and loved ones are left to try and wrap their brains around it all. Flowers and condolences are piling up outside the woman’s home where the quadruple murder happened.
Marlene Pizarro and her children were shot to death by her boyfriend, Al Stenson, who police tracked down and ended up fatally shooting at a Sanford motel.
Pictured: Al Stenson
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"Justice was served," her brother, Julian Ramos, told FOX 13. "Not the way I wanted it to be, but it was served."
Ramos said his sister was the person his family would lean on for strength when a crisis hit.
"Like last year when my dad passed away, she was the pillar. She was holding all of us together," Ramos said. "Now, it is my turn and my brother’s turn to be the pillar for my mom."
Pictured: Marlene Pizarro
Pizarro taught kids with learning challenges at Lake Wales High School.
"I can’t imagine the immense tragedy they’re feeling," said Dr. Lori Hutto, her former professor at Warner University.
On Thursday, grief counselors were available at the high school for students and staff who needed to talk about the tragedy. Hutto said that over the years, Pizarro taught hundreds of students.
Pizarro was one of the most committed and memorable. From the first time they met, Hutto said Pizarro’s passion for teaching was evident.
"She truly felt that this is what God called her to do," she commented.
Her family is now raising money to send her home to the island she loved.
"My mother’s wish is to bring her back to Puerto Rico," Ramos said. "We’re going to bury her on the island, on our soil."